The birds of Venice
by BlueAcidRain
Summary: When Ezio sees Leonardo feeding some pigeons he gets an idea.. Leonardo has to wonder why he always goes along with these ideas. LeoXEzio fluff.


AN: I've finally gotten up the courage to upload my first story. Wvv. Thanks to Pantharya for being my Beta! Also, I don't own Assassin's Creed or any of it's characters, Ubisoft does. And thank goodness for that. Hope you enjoy!~

* * *

Leonardo looked dreamily out the window over the streets of Venezia. The afternoon sun bounced lazily off the windows of the houses below, keeping the streets warmly lit and inviting.

He looked back down at the sketch he had been trying to complete for.. He didn't even remember how long. Dropping his pencil in frustration he flexed his hands slowly before running them through his curly brown hair. How was he supposed to work inside on such a beautiful day like this? His chair scraped as he stood up decisively and reached for his hat. After placing it firmly on his head he reached for the door handle and paused. He made his way briskly back to the table, picked up the remains of a loaf of bread and made his way back to the door, slipping the bread into his pocket.

As he opened the door the warm afternoon light flooded over him. He turned his face up, smiling, his work now completely forgotten. As he made his way into the streets he spotted a familiar group of courtesans across the road from his studio, who waved as he went past.

'Ciao Leonardo. A beautiful day, no?'

Leonardo smiled warmly at the familiar girls and nodded.

'An excellent day for a walk, I thought.'

A girl in a yellow tiered dress stepped forward, waving a fan alluringly. 'But an even better day to be inside with a lady, Leonardo.'

The rest of the girls laughed, a light tinkling laughter that fell gently on Leonardo's ears. He often found it hard to believe these young women were women of the streets, their skin still so smooth and pale and their hair pinned so carefully back into two points on the tops of their heads. It was in these times of wonder that his eyes would fall back to the daggers at their hips, and he would remind himself what hid beneath the perfume and the falls of fabric. A hardness evident mostly in the expression just behind their eyes, and the slight lines at their mouths.

He chuckled and shook his head.

'Ah girls you know I never hire.'

The tinkling laughter rang out again and the girl in yellow shut her fan.

'Si Leonardo, we know. But what type of girls would we be if we did not try?'

Leonardo simply grinned and headed off down the street, waving goodbye to the girls as the laughter followed after him. He wandered lazily for a while, watching the people in the streets and admiring the architecture of buildings he had admired so many times before. He often found himself inspired by the frescoes of Venezia, the statues and the marble. Too many times he'd found himself sketching beautiful buildings instead of finishing the work he was being paid to do. More than the buildings though, he was fascinated by the people. Leonardo believed there was more to a face than just two eyes, a nose and a mouth. He took great pleasure in capturing the lines around eyes, the curves of mouths and the exact way in which hair fell over shoulders. When Leonardo painted he didn't simply paint faces, he painted people.

After what had seemed like only a brief walk Leonardo realised that he'd arrived at the Ponte di Rialto. After crossing he turned sharply left and made his way down to the docks, where he sat on a small ledge overlooking the water. It wasn't long before pigeons began to appear near him and he chuckled softly, pulling the bread out of his pocket. He slowly broke it into small pieces, throwing handfuls at a time out and watching the pigeons bob around happily, pecking at the tiny white crumbs.

'I must apologise my friends, it has been a while since I came to see you all. I see you are surviving without me though.'

'You know it is a strange mind, Leonardo, which causes a man to talk to birds as if they were people.'

Leonardo looked up to see a tall man in assassin's garb behind him, looking down at him with amusement swimming in his eyes. It was no surprise that Leonardo had not heard him coming, the man moved silently without even thinking about it these days. When Leonardo had first met him he'd been clumsy, young and arrogant. But over time he'd had seen the other man harden beyond what any man should have to. He was always slightly distant now, always ready to run. Nevertheless it had been a while since he had seen him.

'Ezio! Amico mio, I did not even know you were back in town.'

He hopped up excitedly, frightening the pigeons and causing them to hop backwards warily. As he stood the assassin held has arms open and Leonardo embraced him tightly. It was always good to see his friend after a long trip; Leonardo knew what danger was involved in Ezio's trips away, never honestly knowing if he would see him again or not.

'Si, I'm back. I went to your studio to find you but you were not there. Your.. lady friends were most helpful in telling me which way you had gone.'

Leonardo suspected Ezio had loosened their tongues with Florins, though he also suspected he hadn't needed to; Ezio was a very popular man amongst the young women of the city. And, he secretly suspected, some of the young men.

'Well you've found me. What was it you needed me for Ezio? More codex pages?'

Ezio seemed to hesitate slightly as Leonardo looked up at him, but the expression vanished quickly and was replaced by his familiar impossible to read face.

'Si Leonardo, si.'

Leonardo lingered, searching the man's face for a very small moment, hoping to find some small shred of what had just been there. Finding the face stoic once again he sighed.

'And I had only just left the confines of the studio.'

He moved as if to head back but Ezio's hand on his arm stopped him. He looked up quizzically at his taller friend, who smiled very slightly.

'We do not need to go straight back inside. It is after all a beautiful day and I do not need to always see you on business hmm? I have only just got back from business. We have some time. Let us walk.'

Leonardo smiled warmly at his friend and nodded. He threw the last of the bread for the birds and said goodbye to them, promising he wouldn't wait so long to come back next time, before heading off down the street aside Ezio.

'You have a compassion for life Leonardo. I respect that about you.'

Leonardo tried to read the Assassin's expression again and found his eyes scanning the streets, automatically looking for guards, assessing the situation. Ezio spent more time on the rooftops than on the ground and Leonardo knew it made him uncomfortable. There were too many crowds on the ground. Eventually he decided to take the comment at face value and shook his head.

'I think you are glorifying it Ezio. I just happen to like birds.'

This seemed an appropriate enough response as the Assassin laughed and clapped Leonardo on the shoulder.

'You have a brilliant mind my friend, but Dio mio I do not understand it.'

As Ezio laughed heartily Leonardo couldn't help but notice how much he enjoyed that laugh. The assassin had so little time for laughter that Leonardo counted himself lucky to be one of the few people Ezio could laugh so safely with. As he looked up at the hazy afternoon sky, filled with light fluffy clouds, and listened to his friend laugh, he applauded himself for his decision to have gone outside.

* * *

A sharp knock at Leonardo's door drew him quickly out of sleep. He made his way blearily over and opened the door to see Ezio looking back at him. The taller man's expression changed quickly to that of concern.

'Leonardo, are you alright? You look pale, are you sick?'

Leonardo blinked sleepily, trying to form a sentence in his head.

'Ezio. Si.. I mean.. no.' He shook his head in an attempt to clear it.

'Si I am alright, no I am not sick. I fell asleep while working is all. You woke me up when you knocked. What time is it? It must be late by now.'

Ezio looked outside and back into the studio again. 'It is late enough my friend. Now get ready. We must go.'

Through the lifting fog of sleep Leonardo blinked in confusion.

'Late enough? Late enough for what?'

The corners of Ezio's mouth curled slightly into a vague grin.

'For our little adventure. Now get your coat. It is a little cold out.'

Leonardo felt his ability to think slowly return and he obediently retrieved his coat and slipped it on. He followed Ezio out into the emptying streets, jogging a little to keep up with him as the man took off at a brisk pace. He knew Ezio was much fitter than he was, the man spent his days climbing buildings and running from guards while Leonardo spent them sitting at a desk looking out a window, grasping for inspiration.

'Ezio, where are we going at a time like this?'

The assassin didn't slow, but did finally turn his head to look at Leonardo.

'Don't you like surprises my friend? I have something to show you. Trust me, you'll like this. Well. Eventually you'll like it.'

Leonardo decided he didn't like the sly grin that appeared on Ezio's face upon the word 'eventually', but he knew there was nothing he could do now. He knew his friend well, well enough to know that Ezio would not back down. He had an idea in his mind and whatever Leonardo said he would follow the idea to its end. He was stubborn like that.

As they approached the end of a row of buildings Ezio stopped suddenly and turned to Leonardo, who looked back blankly.

'Well here we are.'

'Ezio, you wanted to show me this row of buildings I have walked past a million times before?'

Ezio let out a small chuckle and shook his head.

'What I want to show you is higher than them Leonardo. I know you don't like heights.. So I've chosen the lowest one I could find. And put in some extra ladders for you.'

Leonardo looked up at the building in front of them, then back at his friend.

'Lowest what? How high? Ezio, what..?'

His friend made a clicking noise with his tongue before turning sideways and in three jumps leaping up the building next to them. He disappeared briefly before his head appeared again over the edge and called down.

'Leonardo, the ladder next to you. Climb it.'

As he spotted the ladder and began to climb Leonardo began to wonder why he always went along with Ezio. The man was clearly bad for his health. He often came at the most inconvenient times. They were friends but even friends said no to each other sometimes. Leonardo could never say no to Ezio. And sometimes he wondered if Ezio knew this and used it to his advantage. Not that it would change things if he did, Leonardo would still go along with whatever the other man said. It was just how things were.

There was a second ladder on the ledge he arrived at after climbing the first, and he looked up to see Ezio on the roof the ladder led to. He set about climbing the second ladder, reminding himself not to look down.

As he reached the top Ezio began to smile.

'There you are see? A simple ladder climb, not so bad. I've put up these next ones myself so be a little careful.'

He disappeared off over the roof tiles and up a wall at the end of the building. There was a short ladder leading up to the roof of the next building over, on top of which was another ladder leading to yet another red tiled roof. He made his way cautiously over the red tiles, praying desperately they were properly attached to the building underneath him and eventually made his way up the next two ladders to where Ezio was now standing. Once again he reached the top and Ezio bounded off across the roof to another precariously placed ladder, this one leading up into a bell tower. As Leonardo climbed across the roof and onto the next ladder he prayed that Ezio only meant for him to go as high as the ladder was placed. Climbing slowly and carefully he reached the top of the ladder and climbed off over the ledge that Ezio was calmly perched on and onto the safety of the bell tower's floor.

'Ezio.. Please tell me this is where we stop.'

Ezio looked sheepishly at Leonardo and then up at the small indents around the arches of the bell tower walls.

'Sorry amico mio, I could not fit ladders on the last section. There is only room for feet and hands. But I am going to help you up, si?'

Leonardo looked up at the tiny hand-holds and wanted to shake his head, to call Ezio a madman and climb back down the ladders to solid ground, but the man's eyes seemed almost pleading as he looked back at Leonardo, the way they had the first time he'd ever come to Leonardo for help, and all he did was nod.

'Ok I'll go first amico mio, watch what I do. I'll grab that notch with my hand, slide myself slowly around and then pull myself up onto the roof.'

Leonardo looked at the assassin then down at his own hands. They were not the callused hands of a man who knew the walls of building by the feel of them.

'Ezio I know you can do that with ease but you can't expect me to..'

'No, my friend, I can't. That is why we will do it together. Watch what I do and I shall help you up after me.'

Ezio nimbly made his way up and around the building and onto the roof. His head appeared over the edge and he looked down at Leonardo.

'Alright what you'll need to is get your hands both into that crack, see there? Then you'll need to slide slightly around this edge and then I'm going to take your hand and ask you to jump. When I say jump you need to jump with all your might and I will pull you up to safety. Easy, no?'

Leonardo did as he was told, hoping his palms weren't too sweaty from fear, and placed both hands on the cool stone. Leonardo looked nervously from his feet to the ledge above and back at Ezio.

'I.. do not know if I can do this.'

As he looked up Ezio fixed him firmly with his eyes, his face stern yet sincere.

'Leonardo, there is no way I could ever let you fall. You need to trust me. I could not live with myself if I did not protect you.'

The sincerity of Ezio's voice and the depth of his eyes made Leonardo almost forget where he was. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Ezio look so heartfelt and he had trouble tearing his eyes away. Eventually he remembered where he was and was once again gripped by fear. As Ezio reached down and took Leonardo's hand he felt a surge of adoration for his friend and he prepared himself to jump.

'Ok Leonardo. Ready? Jump!'

A second after he jumped Leonardo felt a twist in his stomach as he felt the air beneath his feet. He struggled to not let his fear take over, tried to control the jump to make Ezio's job easier and a split second later he felt the other man's hand tightly around his wrist, pulling him upwards and over. As Leonardo was flung hard over the top of the roof at great force he collided with Ezio and landed in a tangled heap on top of the tower. Leonardo was worried he might have damaged the assassin until he heard the man under him laughing deeply. He looked into his friend's smiling face and began to laugh himself, half at the sheer relief to be alive and half at the look of absolute joy on the face of his friend. The two men laughed until tears formed in their eyes and until Leonardo realised he was still on top of Ezio and probably crushing him. He rolled off and sat up.

'Thank you for not dropping me.'

'Thank you for trusting me.'

Leonardo nodded solemnly, a face of honesty replacing the one of mirth.

'Si. All along I trusted you. A close friend once told me he respected my compassion for life. You may be an assassino, amico mio, but it is a compassion I still see in you. You would not have let me fall.'

Leonardo looked into Ezio's soft eyes, losing himself slightly as they seemed to swim with an emotion Leonardo did not recognise. He jumped when the other man suddenly hopped up.

'Si Ezio, remember that day. After that day I started thinking. About what you said.. About birds. It is why we are here.'

Leonardo remembered suddenly where they were and how strange Ezio had been about it. He opened his mouth to ask a question but Ezio raised a finger to his lips and beckoned to Leonardo to stand. He did so, before moving to his friend's side and turning to look in the same direction. He wasn't sure why Ezio was looking at a piece of wood sticking out from the tower and he looked back questioningly at the man beside him once again. Ezio grinned at him, before pointing back out at the piece of wood.

As Leonardo turned back his eyes widened.

'Ezio… Dio mio.. This can't be true..'

The large brown bird that had just flown onto the piece of wood brought in its wings and began to preen itself gracefully.

Ezio put his hand on Leonardo's shoulder and squeezed slightly.

'I have seen these birds so many times during my travels and it never occurred to me to show you, Leonardo. Not until that day I saw you feeding pigeons on your own. I knew then I had to get you here. You may have a strange mind, but it is a beautiful one.'

Leonardo looked wordlessly from the stunning bird to his smiling friend. Suddenly he realised something and his face fell.

'Oh! Here I am with the most beautiful subject and I have not got anything to sketch it with! How can I possibly let an opportunity like this go past with no record of it?'

Leonardo looked on with confusion as Ezio looked almost bashfully down at his feet. It was not something he was used to seeing.

'I uh.. Thought you would have been suspicious if I'd told you to bring your sketching things, so I stole some from your workshop the other day to bring myself.'

As Ezio reached into his pouch and pulled out Leonardo's pencils and paper his heart soared. He had not even noticed that any of his things had gone missing, but he had never been so pleased to have been stolen from before. After taking his things he sat carefully on the roof and began sketching the eagle.

He wasn't sure how much time passed before he finally looked back at Ezio, who was perched daintily on the edge looking out over the city. Leonardo was surprised he hadn't been spotted by archers and suddenly realised why Ezio must have chosen this time of day. The guards were lazy in the evening, having just had meals and they were much less likely to look up. Ezio would have no problem evading the eyes of archers anyway, but Leonardo knew these precautions had been for his own protection. Ezio had been protecting him every step of the way.

He stood up slowly, stretching and Ezio hopped back off the edge to meet him.

'I think I have done all that I will be able to do in a night. It is late, the last of the light is going now. But Ezio, thank you so much for this opportunity. How can I ever repay you for this kindness?'

Ezio moved slowly next to Leonardo and began to speak softly, kindly. 'You don't have to, Leonardo. I did not do this for a favour in return. I did this simply because I wanted to make you happy.'

Leonardo looked up into the assassin's eyes, surprised by his soft tones and was greeted by the same un-recognisable look he had seen earlier in the evening. As he stared into the eyes of the other man he slowly began to realise what the look in Ezio's eyes meant, why Ezio had done so much for him. It was a look he had seen all over the city, in the eyes of newcomers marvelling at the new sites, in the eyes of children with their mothers and in the eyes of young lovers. He smiled gently, looked back at the eagle, and slipped his hand softly into Ezio's own.

Ezio turned his head to look at the eagle also, but slipped his fingers in between Leonardo's and squeezed gently. Out of the corner of his eye Leonardo saw the assassin smile. A rare, vulnerable, happy smile.

They stared at the beautiful bird together in silence for some time before Leonardo let out an involuntary shiver.

'Leonardo, we should be going. The sun is gone and it is getting cold, despite my coat.'

'Si Ezio, you are right.'

Leonardo gave Ezio's hand a final squeeze before reluctantly pulling it away. He looked around himself slowly, remembering once again that they were on the very top of a very tall tower.

'So.. How do we get down again?'

For a second Leonardo thought he saw his friend cringe slightly and Ezio turned to face him directly.

'Leonardo, before we go I want you to remember this. This moment right now. Remember how thankful you are and how beautiful this bird is. Hold that thought, si? Because… Well.. You are really, really not going to like this…'


End file.
